Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category

Today the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked manufacturers of the following antidepressant drugs to include in their labeling a Warning statement that recommends close observation of adult and pediatric patients treated with these agents for worsening depression or the emergence of suicidality. The drugs that are the focus of this new Warning are: Prozac (fluoxetine); Zoloft (sertraline); Paxil (paroxetine); Luvox (fluvoxamine); Celexa (citalopram); Lexapro (escitalopram); Wellbutrin (bupropion); Effexor (venlafaxine); Serzone (nefazodone); and Remeron (mirtazapine).

Aug. 20, 2004 — A new FDA analysis shows that kids taking most antidepressants have an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions.

Having been suicidal, and having been diagnosed with manic depression (bipolar disorder) in elementary school, and having been placed on heavy dosage of Zoloft spanning sixth through eighth grade, and having hated the effects that it had on me to the point of pretending that I was no longer unhappy so that I could stop taking it, and knowing what I know now, and feeling what I feel now…

I am sick of bad haircuts.
I am sick of having to spend 20 minutes with a couple mirrors and some scissors and a beard-trimmer to fucking fix my hair cut.
How do barbers & hair stylists ever get their license/degree/certification if they can’t even make a straight goddamn line across the back of my head where my neck meets my skull? If I can fucking see that it is lopsided, I would think that who ever is cutting my hair could fucking see that it is lopsided.

As a financial and business institution that regulates and perhaps runs this country, you would expect banks to have better hours. My local bank is open 9am to 4pm weekdays (though it is open to 5pm on friday) and closed on weekends. Despite the fact that many businesses are open for much longer hours and so they have staggered shifts, if/when people work a standard 9 to 5 work day, they will not be able to go to the bank unless they go during work.

Additional Note:

It is a good thing that I don’t trust my bank. I was holding off on posting this because I was giving Huntington Banks the benefit of the doubt, but they have dropped the ball. I deposited a check (from me to myself–my credit union account to my Huntington Banks account) on monday. On the receipt that I was given for the deposit, it stated that the posting date would be today (Tuesday). I assumed that the transaction would be posted at opening hours, but decided to check on it via my internet access to the account to be sure. It was not posted this morning, this afternoon, or this evening. They did not, in fact, run the transaction today. Now ordinarily, this might not bother me, except that they gave me a posting date for when it would be posted. Had I relied on their word, I might have made an electronic purchase/transfer (i.e. debit or Visa checkcard) and there would not have been sufficient money in my account. And who would they hold responsible? Who would be charged ~$30 for trying to overdraw an account (which would not even be overdrawn if the bank had actually done what it had said that it would do)? I would have.

I find it reprehensible that banks would fail to meet their own deadlines and not have to be held responsible. If I fail to provide money once I have committed to providing it, the bank charges me ~$30. It seems to me, that it should only be fair that the bank pay me ~$30 for their failure to provide the money when they committed to providing it.

I suppose that it is one of the reasons that I let my hair grow out; whenever I get a haircut, there is always something about it that isn’t quite right and that I have to fix myself when I get home.

Today’s haircut was worse than usual. Usually, they just leave one side slightly longer than the other on top or they get my sideburns uneven, but today it was slightly longer on the left, too long in the back part of the top of my head, and the trim across the neckline was lopsided AND had a chunk that was way shorter than the rest. I suppose that it is a good thing that I have plenty of practice cutting my own hair, or I would never have been able to fix this one by myself. It is weird having short hair again after having it long and shaggy for about 9 months.

omg… i just saw a commercial for one of those yogurt in a tube products (i am not sure which brand it was) and they are advertising their new “shrek” line of flavors, which includes a flavor called “donkey-berry punch”. first off, i don’t think i would want to eat a donkey-anything flavored snack (unless maybe it was like donkey-jerky or donkey-steak or donkey-burger or something). and second off, how did anything with a name containing the word “donkey” followed by the word “punch” get past the decision-makers? but seriously, it is too funny, right? or is it just me?

Even though this company must offer at least a few decent compilations of music (I hope), I absolutely despise the way they market their products. I just saw an ad for “Thug Nation”, and it is completely ridiculous. I have to assume that these people are marketing the music to stupid white suburban kids who like to fool themselves into thinking that they live in “the ghetto”. I can’t imagine any self-respecting “thug” to order this collection of music. (I would think that most already own the albums that the songs come from anyway.) The incredibly “old white guy” sounding narrator reading a script that attempts to emulate current street slang certainly does not convince me that he knows what it is like to live the “thug life”. It’s cheesy, it’s corny, and it seems a bit exploitative. I hope to God that I never have to make ads like these when I get a job.

From the website:

“Whether you’re jeepin’ or creepin’, Thug Nation has got your back!”

From the television commercial:

Are you a true player? Then it’s time to pledge allegiance to the money, power, and respect of Thug Nation—the hugest hood anthems of all time. Guaranteed to get you gangsta! … Whether you’re a hustla, a baller, or a P-I-M-P, Thug Nation is gonna get your game in check. Call or log on, and get your thug on now! These are all the greatest hip-hop hits for the thug in you. … East Coast, West Coast and the rivalry that spawned the biggest mix of all time; it’s Thug Nation, where all your favorite legends of hip-hop are representin’. Where da hood at? It’s ahhll right heeere, dog! … Plus, get blingin’ with this “Holla 4 Thug Nation” bumper sticker, absolutely free with your paid order. Street dreams are made of this. Get Thug Nation now!

This entry was part of my previous journal, but I felt that it deserved to be carried over. The original entry was unrefined and unorganized, so what follows is a revised version which was published at ‘short.attentionspan.theater’*.

Please bear in mind that this essay no longer accurately portrays my feelings on the subject, but is merely a record of some of my thoughts at the time. I acknowledge that while some of my ideas may have been insightful in some ways, they were also woefully shortsighted and inadequate.

This entry was part of my previous journal, but I felt that it deserved to be carried over. The original entry was written after a weekend road trip that involved driving longways twice across the state of Ohio.